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	Review by Brian Harris - SCREAM FOR ME (4 Stars) - Every so often I come across a short film or an indie horror filmmaker that just blows my mind. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen much. Course, not everybody can be a Dante Tomaselli, Alan Kelly Rowe, Miquel Coyula, Lance Catania, Neil Marshall or Nacho Cerda. Not every filmmaker can be expected to hit the mark every time he shoots…unless your name Christopher Alan Broadstone. Broadstone, in my opinion, is a time bomb silently ticking, waiting for that perfect time to blow the roof off of horror and mangle a few unsuspecting viewers. His style, concepts, camera angles and coloring all scream, “GIVE ME A COUPLE MILLION!” Case in point, Scream for Me. This short film is a hilarious and terrifying short. After watching it the first time I forced myself to watch it a second time and found myself actually laughing. The twisted irony Broadstone has created in this short film is nothing short of genius. Garrott Druck (Gabriel Sigal) is a man obsessed with his violent past. He’s driven to break into a Irene’s (Lora Cunningham) home and torture her in the hopes that she’ll scream. This just isn’t Garrott’s day though when Madman (Tony Simmons) breaks in, beats Garrott and ties him up. Seems Madman has been keeping his eye on Irene, waiting for the right time to break in and rape the poor girl. Course, Garrott beat him to it and this just won’t do. Madman has “come for some fuckin’” and if you think you know what will happen…you just might be right. Scream for Me is a sick, twisted re-imagining of the rape/revenge films of yesteryear. Can you imagine the controversy this might have caused back in the 70’s though? This is Deliverance with a knife strapped to the wang. This is I Spit On Your Corpse with Camille Keaton reflected in the aviators of a far more angrier adversary. This 16mm, 22 minute short schools MOST full-length low budget indie releases out there. No, this short film kicks them in the balls, takes their lunch money, dumps the books out of their bags and grinds its heel on their hands. The cinematography was simply amazing. I’m still floored by the absolutely inspiring shots of Garrott screaming while reflected through Madman’s sunglasses. It was just so damn fucked up. The coloring in this short was top of the line as well and was a bit reminiscent of Argento. So…when all is said and done I want to know why low budget horror can’t deliver anything similar to this? Why do we need 90 minutes of shot-on-camcorder greasepaint zombies smoking joints or riding Twinkie buses when we have something like this? To each their own, I suppose, but Christopher Alan Broadstone, in my opinion, is the future of horror cinema. Be forewarned, this is NOT for everybody. I am a freak and derive enjoyment from audio/visual cruelty, not everybody will be prepared for the brutality Scream for Me offers up. If you still cringe when hearing dueling banjos and a compliment on your “purdy lips” sends you into the fetal position, you may want to pass on this and seek out some of the tired old Romero retreads floating around out there. For those of you looking for something new…something unique…something that will kidney punch you and have you urinating blood…Christopher Alan Broadstone has something to show you. Something very, very painful. Do yourself a favor, head on over to Black Cab Productions and slap down $17 for the double feature DVD and you’ll receive a bonus short film entitled, Human No More. It’s well worth the price folks, no joke. I eagerly await Broadstone’s feature length film, Retard. I truly believe it’s going to be a film to remember. - http://www.joehorror.com/0000142.html - - - MY SKIN! (3.5 Stars) Review by Brian Harris - Short films are sometimes hard to review. Mainly because they’re short and you can only say so much about a ten or fifteen minute film but also because many times they’re ten or fifteen minutes wasted. They’re often annoying and experimental. They’re typically made by snotty film students that believe their work is “saying something”. Most end up being nothing more than pseudo-intellectual bukkake on film/video. Folks, I hear more meaningful narration in old Jack Handey segments on SNL!!   Every so often I get a short film that leaves me feeling like that ten or fifteen minutes could have been better spent sticking my arm in a tank of hungry piranha and pinching their o-rings or scrimshawing my own leg bone…outside…in the dirty rain. My attitude changes considerably though when it comes to the short films of Christopher Alan Broadstone. They’re vicious and beautiful. His work isn’t ironic…it’s poetic. His short films are artistic without sacrificing the key elements that make horror what it is. My Skin introduces us to a poor unfortunate, and dead, young woman lying on the floor with her head wrapped in a plastic bag. She’s been shot dead and her husband is nowhere to be found. She’s certainly not alone though. An unseen “bird” flies into the room and transforms into a man. He takes a seat and removes a gun and some bullets from his jacket, picks weeds from the pistol and begins loading the gun. He then discovers a poem wedged in the pages of a book and begins to furiously re-write the poem. This strange being is Death and he’s not a happy camper. This young woman’s demise wasn’t planned and the Grim One has decided to hand out some cosmic punishment. After making some adjustments in his book he calls the girl’s husband and notifies him that the police are on their way and they’ll find his pistol with his prints and the newly re-written poem signed by his own hand. The husband is furious but he has no idea that being arrested is far from the punishment Death had in mind for the man. With some swift alterations his book, he swoops out of the room before the police break down the door. What was in the book? What punishment could be worse than a lifetime in prison? What waits for the guilty husband upon death? I applaud Chris Broadstone. The man has an amazing imagination. I simply cannot imagine a feature length film from Broadstone not being worth my time. As conceited as that may sound…my time is valuable to me and I’m easily pissed off after a 93 minute pile of dung. Broadstone knows his colors. His shorts always have this wonderful lighting and coloring and have a very Argento feel to them at times. Don’t get me wrong, he’s got his own style, but the colors featured in his shorts sometimes remind me of Suspiria. The shorts feel painted. He also has spectacular cinematography. He just gets some amazing shots. One major mention also must go to Tony Simmons who played Death. To say this guy is versatile would be an insult. He’s Lon Freakin’ Chaney. He’s a damn different person in each short I’ve seen him in. Not only does his acting change from character to character but his appearance does as well! He must have a magical kit of disguises. My hats off goes off to Mr. Simmons and I hope to see him in more Broadstone shorts as well as feature films. I’m hooked. I’m a Broadstone fan. Now, not everybody can hit a homerun and I fully understand that filmmakers will sometimes lay an egg but I don’t believe Christopher Alan Broadstone has even warmed yet. The three short films I watched were simply phenomenal. Do yourself a favor and head on over to the Black CAB Productions site and treat yourself to a DVD. You won’t regret it. - http://www.joehorror.com/0000159.html - - - HUMAN NO MORE (3 Stars) Review by Brian Harris - Imagine a pain so intense, so toxic, that the only release possible from the sorrow is to physically remove your heart? Not metaphorically…literally. What might a man become? What might a man be capable of without human emotion? A man completely devoid of feeling is a sad, yet terrifying, thing. These are the very concepts Christopher Alan Broadstone’s short film, Human No More, addresses. Detective Nemo (Tony Simmons) is just too late. Too late to save his wife and child. Too late to deliver justice to the killer that took the lives of his Family. He is a man without hope. His feelings of sorrow and regret become self-destructive and Nemo is determined to raise his fist to Heaven while snatching away the pleasure of damnation from Hell. There’s only one way to stop the pain. Detective Nemo decides to get to the “heart” of the matter and he does so in typical C.A. Broadstone fashion! This is the third, but hopefully not the last, Christopher Alan Broadstone short film I’ll be reviewing and though I would say it’s my least favorite, it’s certainly the most emotionally charged. We all know the sting of heartache and I’ve often wondered what it would be like to feel nothing at all. The very idea though is dangerous. Imagine the atrocities mankind has committed with emotion! It’s chilling to wonder what a man could be capable of with no emotional hang-up. While I found Christopher Alan Broadstone’s other shorts far more entertaining, I felt Human No More hit closer to home. That can make for a truly uncomfortable viewing experience. He’s created a short film that successfully mirrors our own deep desire to simply remove our pain by doing nothing more than plucking our hearts from our chests. The coloring, cinematography and acting are quite simply…amazing. Broadstone is less a filmmaker and more an artist. He paints intimate portraits of depravity and despair, justice and hope. I’ve mentioned before that his work reminds me of Dario Argento and I’m definitely sticking to that. I’d even go so far as to throw some Raimi in there as well because this short featured some cool camerawork. Christopher Alan Broadstone must be either the best kept secret in horror or the biggest threat to what casual horror fans consider “horror” because I’m just not reading enough about him out there. When conversations come up with fellow horror geeks I’m always asking, “Have you seen any of Chris Broadstone’s work?” The answer is generally no. What a shame. Folks, do yourself a favor and check out some new horror. Some innovative, original horror. Get in on the ground floor because this guy is going to be the “next big thing” in the genre. I, for one, am going to be the first in line when his first feature length hits theaters. Hell, I’ll be the first in line if his first feature length goes direct-to-DVD! Ah! Before I wrap up this interview I need to make mention of the phenomenal acting talent of Tony Simmons. He’s like a modern day Lon Chaney! Every damn time I see the guy he’s a different person! I happen to hear on the grapevine that we’ll be seeing Mr. Simmons alongside KatieBird’s Lee Perkins soon! I’m looking forward to that! - http://www.joehorror.com/0000189.html